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Wednesday, March 23, 2016

House of Bishops "Living Under the Shadow of the Lynching Tree"

An Episcopal Church Office of Public Affairs press release recently crossed my desk and if I didn't grok these people, I would have been left scratching my head. Let me help you understand them too.

The House of Bishops of The Episcopal Church, meeting in retreat, unanimously approved the following Word To The Church.

A Word to the ChurchHoly Week 2016

On Good Friday the ruling political forces of the day tortured and executed an innocent man. They sacrificed the weak and the blameless to protect their own status and power.

Uh oh, here comes a thinly veiled political statement.

On the third day Jesus was raised from the dead, revealing not only their injustice but also unmasking the lie that might makes right.

I always thought the resurrection 1) confirmed Jesus' claims about himself and the truthfulness of the Bible, 2) it proved that death has been conquered, 3) it proved the deity of the Son of God, and 4) it proved that Christ came to save us from our sins.

In a country still living under the shadow of the lynching tree, we are troubled by the violent forces being released by this season’s political rhetoric. Americans are turning against their neighbors, particularly those on the margins of society. They seek to secure their own safety and security at the expense of others. There is legitimate reason to fear where this rhetoric and the actions arising from it might take us.

Fear mongering at work here on the part of the House of Bishops, hauling out the lynching tree canard insinuating that certain candidates are racists, in response to what they perceive to be fear mongering on the part of those politicians. The bishops only intensify the problem by ramping up the rhetoric themselves.

In this moment, we resemble God’s children wandering in the wilderness. We, like they, are struggling to find our way.

This country is wandering, and the bishops seem to be going to Hillary in a hand basket.

They turned from following God and worshiped a golden calf constructed from their own wealth. The current rhetoric is leading us to construct a modern false idol out of power and privilege.

These bishops should know a thing or two about false idols. Divorce, abortion, gay marriage have been golden calves they have been bowing down to for years.

We reject the idolatrous notion that we can ensure the safety of some by sacrificing the hopes of others. No matter where we fall on the political spectrum, we must respect the dignity of every human being and we must seek the common good above all else.

"We reject the idolatrous notion that we can ensure the safety of some by sacrificing the hopes of others." I am not sure what they are talking about. Hopes, being mere ideas, can be sacrificed, whereas safety cannot.
How do you think this might work when applied to the Episcopal Church's stance on abortion? By this reasoning, women who have an urgent medical need for an abortion (one of the arguments used by pro-choice Episcopalians) and are having the procedure for safety of the mother by sacrificing the life of the baby are effectively sacrificing the hopes of the unborn. Isn't this an idolatrous notion that the Episcopal church supports? What about the argument that unwanted children have nothing but poverty and abuse to look forward to and that we can ensure the well being of children as a whole by sacrificing the unwanted through abortion?

We call for prayer for our country that a spirit of reconciliation will prevail and we will not betray our true selves.

"Not betray our true selves." I have no clue as to what they mean by that.

The Episcopal Church House of Bishops met in retreat March 11 – 15 at Camp Allen Conference Center in Navasota, TX.

These folks are lost, retreating like their church, and they are supposed to be shepherds...

Daily Devotions 1928 BCP

Which Church Father Are You?

I'm St. Jerome!

I'm a passionate Christian, fiercely devoted to Jesus Christ and his Church. I am willing to labor long hours in the Lord’s vineyard, and I have little patience with those who are less willing or able to work as I do. My passions often carry me into temptation zones of wrath, lust, and pride.